A Twist of Fate
by Get The Funk Out
Summary: Percy and Annabeth have been married for nearly twenty years, with three kids of their own running around now. A routine trip to camp leads to kidnapping, reclaimed youth, and a quest that defies all logic. Percy X Annabeth. DISCONTINUED
1. I Get Reminded that I'm a Seaweed Brain

**A/N **

Hey, all, this is my first ever fanfic, and I figured that I should give one of my favorite series of all times a shot. I'll be trying to make all the characters as in character as possible, but there will inevitably be kinks I need to work out. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the story, and review so I can get a feel for what people think about it. Don't flame, please, but constructive criticism is always welcome.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and never will. If I did, Nico would be named the God of Mythomagic, and smite all the nonbelievers. See why I don't own it now?

**Chapter One: I Get Reminded That I'm a Seaweed Brain**

I was never a morning person. Not when I was a kid, and not now. Especially not after I stayed up until two in the morning last night watching a Yankee game that got called off because of a rain delay. Worst part? They lost.

Now, I'll just set the scene, to give a little insight about what's going on here. Imagine me, on my bed, a full grown man, with my wife Annabeth looming over me, knee pressed into the 'soft spot' on my back. I've gone up against tons of monsters, faced off with Ares, and even took down Kronos. This though? I won't get into the details, but my kids were wondering later on why they thought they heard a five year old girl screaming in our room.

''You still drool when you sleep, by the way,'' Annabeth said to me, as she left me alone in our room, moaning complaints until she shut the door. Whenever the alarm failed, and she couldn't do it nicely, this was what it came to. Every day for the entire time we've been living together. I actually sort of wondered if Annabeth just did it because of some ingrained instinct that being a daughter of Athena gave her...Even though Dad was trying to make the relationship between our two divine parents a little less strained, Athena wasn't buying into it. Not that I was surprised, but it was still a little disturbing to know that you've got two of the immortals ready to snap your neck.

I came down to breakfast in my own little world. Annabeth smirked at me from across the table, and I banged my head against it, wondering why in Hades she was such a genius.

''Come on, Seaweed Brain. Perk up! We're taking the kids to camp today!''

I made eye contact, and she actually seemed pretty pleased with herself. Why? Well, most likely because our youngest, Chelsea, was basically claimed by Athena when the goddess herself came to her last birthday party.

Oh, right. You need to know the kids. There's Jason, and he's basically my carbon copy. He's pretty tall, with scraggly black hair, and sea green eyes. My Dad had 'dibs' on him from the second he turned thirteen. He's fifteen now. My other son, Alex (Ajax, really, but who wants _that _name growing up?) has blond hair, gray eyes, and is Annabeth's tag team partner in any given argument. He's fourteen, and could out debate me from the moment he could talk. Wise Girl taught him well.

Chelsea is the baby of the family (At 13), and is a Daddy's girl. The only reason I mention this is because I figured she was all set to make the score 2 to 1 in Poseidon's favor, but then Athena had to come and be all, like, '_You're a daughter of Athena, blah, blah, blah, and you're gonna' be wise, blah, blah, blah.' _

Don't tell her I thought that, though. She'd have no problem wiping me off the face of the earth.

''Yo, dad!'' Alex called, waving his hand in front of my face.

''Hm? What 'chu need?'' I asked, still groggy. Even the temptation that the pancakes on my plate provided me wasn't enough to jar me out of wanting more rest.

''Jason is still in bed, you know. We don't want Chiron to be waiting! We have to go _now_!''

There was more after that; Much more, in fact. I just didn't listen, because being punctual is not a Jackson family tradition. It soon dawned on me after a few weeks of dating, though, that it was a Chase family tradition.

I marched up the stairs like a good little boy, and knocked on Jason's door. See, we have this nice house in the city now, and I teach Latin, so I'm only a few blocks from my job. Now, you're probably thinking about why in the world a dyslexic kid with ADHD ended up a professor. Six letters; C-H-I-R-O-N. He manipulated the board of education officials into thinking I was a trained professional. So, if you ever meet one of my early students, and ever feel the need to ask them to speak Latin, **don't**. But back to Chiron, because he was the root of this problem. He so kindly suggested that I take up the role to allow opportunities to search out new half-bloods. Ten years teaching there, and I've only ever got one. She was a daughter of Aphrodite, and was in Jason's grade, unfortunately. He didn't take my class, thank the Gods, but I had her carted off to camp before she could say 'Where's my lipstick?'

Again, don't tell Aphrodite I was thinking this stuff. It's not good for my personal life, ya' know?

No response from my son as of yet, so I did the responsible thing. I marched in real quiet, and looked around. Sure enough, there was a glass of water on his bedside stand. I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying, 'Oh, so he poured it on his head?' No. Wrong. I don't do that. No, I make it much more awesome, because Poseidon's my Dad. I didn't even have to walk near him. I just willed the water to come out of the glass, chilled it with my mind, and dumped it on his head. Five seconds later, I was being chased out of my son's room by Jason himself. If looks could kill (Excluding one very scary snake lady, they can't) I'd have dropped dead.

''You. Are. A. Complete-'' I cut him off by putting my hands up defensively.

''Hey, think about it like this. You don't have to take a shower today, because I made it look like you already did.''

''Touche,'' was the only response I got, as my son shook his hair out, deciding that it would be best if he didn't make the water leave his hair instantly, to sate his mother. Speaking of which...

I ran down the stairs, passing my son, and reentered the kitchen to one of Annabeth's famous rants about her new plans for the world's architecture to Alex, who was listening with rapt attention. Sneaking up behind her slowly, I grabbed her from under her arms, and held her a few inches off the ground, arms wrapped tight around her stomach.

''Let me go, Seaweed Brain!''

''Say the magic words, Honey!'' I taunted back, tickling her lightly, leaving her in fits of giggles. My two children currently in the kitchen averted their eyes, blushing. It always amazed me how I act less mature than they do. I mean, I probably shouldn't be acting like a lovesick puppy at almost forty, but it was always fun. And, despite their protests, I had to put on a show for the kids' sakes. I turned my wife of eighteen years around, and kissed her on the lips, getting an immediate returning of the gesture.

Jason walked in at that very moment, looked once at us, once at his younger siblings, and blurted out, ''look close, kids. This is how babies are made,'' before he strolled right back out of the kitchen, cackling to himself.

''Not that you'd know!'' I yelled back, breaking the kiss, and letting my wife down.

''You are such an immature idiot sometimes!'' Annabeth yelled, slapping me on the chest playfully.

''But I'm _your _idiot,'' I responded, winking.

''Oh, Gods, Percy. Some days, I wish I could strangle you,'' She replied, embracing me tightly. Alex and Chelsea left the room at that, heading for the front door.

''We'll be in the car when you're ready to leave,'' she called behind her as she strolled away, in a sing-song tone.

''Time to go, Honey,'' she said, breaking away as she grabbed the car keys.

''But _I_ wanted to drive!'' I whined, but she was already heading out the door.

**A/N**

Well, there's the first chapter. I just needed to set the stage, a little bit. The plot will kick in eventually, but not for a little bit. Oh, and for the sake of the story, imagine that they're both about thirty eight, ok? Please tell me what you think, and if there are any glaring errors, don't hesitate to point them out. I tried not to edit Percy or Annabeth's character too much with age, because I can't really see either of them acting any different. If anyone else has any perspectives, don't hesitate to add a thought! That's all for now, people!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

It seems that I've made the same error that nearly all future fics make. No one pointed this out, but it dawned on me that, since this is set in the future, and the books were set in out present, wouldn't the technology be completely different? I'd assume so, but for the sake of the story, please suspend disbelief, and pretend that 2009 lasted twenty two years, alright? I just think that some of the humor in the books came from the references to pop-culture, and it would lose some of that humor if I just made the time period completely ambiguous. So yes, there will be references thrown in, just like the books.

Chapter Two: I Realize Why Car Rides Are Inferior to Pegasi

''Are we there yet?''

I didn't want to justify Jason with a response. I had enough strength of will not to jump in the back seat and strangle my son, but just barely. It all dates back to the time Annabeth insisted we go on a family trip to Yellowstone National Park, back about eleven years ago. We were at the Old Faithful geyser, of course, but it wasn't supposed to erupt for another half-hour. Since it was a waste to leave and have to come back, we were all set to wait the half-hour...Except for Jason. I got fed up after about fifteen complaints of 'Can we go yet?', and I got really mad. Which, for normal new parents is fine, but I'm a son of Poseidon. Let me tell you, those expert scientists were freaking out when the geyser erupted twenty five minutes early, with about ten times more force than usual. Annabeth wasn't too happy about it, because she got soaking wet, but Jason was pretty satisfied with himself. So, every time we pass a lake, or a river, or even a medium sized puddle, depending on how long the trip is, I'll get every last nerve I have prodded at, hoping for an eventual explosion.

''No, we're not there yet,'' I responded, palming my face lightly.

''How 'bout now?''

''Fine! Have it your way!'' I yelled, getting shushed by Annabeth, who was on her Bluetooth talking to her current boss about a project she had to hand in by next week.

Jason was smiling like a cat when I made a puddle splash up in front of the car, hitting the windshield, and almost making Annabeth swerve off the road. Turning off her Bluetooth, and turning the wipers on, she glared at me.

''I told you I should have been driving,'' I snickered, getting elbowed roughly by her.

''You are_ such_ a child, Percy. And _you_,'' she added, looking at Jason through the mirror, ''Had better watch out. Do you want me to tell your Grandmother you were acting like such a fool?''

Now, in case you haven't guessed, that wasn't my Mom. No, all the kids love my mom. She bakes blue cookies, brings blue soda, and gives Chelsea blue lipstick every time she visits. Alex seems to like Athena, but Jason doesn't get along with her too well. He takes after me, but he doesn't know when to stop. Like, there's that one little thing, and that just drives people over the edge. Turns out Athena doesn't like when people slurp the last of their drink through their straws. Jason didn't know, and neither did I, really, but we both know now. Whenever she pays an unannounced visit, we now have a no-straw policy, to avoid any more 'incidents'.

''No, mom. I'm sorry.'' He rolled his eyes at me, and I winked at him. She was having a lot of stress. He knew he had to put up with it, because Alex and Chelsea were sleeping (Now that I think about it, it's pretty amazing that they still are after all this), and she already had her fill of yelling at me. When I looked over to her to talk, she was already back on her Bluetooth, nodding her head at what I presumed was her boss.

I'll pass over the rest of the trip, because nothing eventful happened...Okay, I fell asleep, too, and have no idea what happened. Really, no idea. I wouldn't say that it would be considered unreasonable that the other four occupants of the car played 'sing the loudest song in the world', or 'let's blast the radio on max volume', because it takes a bulldozer running over my legs to wake me up...And even then, I would probably just say it was a blanket.

Anyway, we were heading up the hill to camp, the car parked at the bottom, and I got my first look at Peleus in a year. He was wrapped around the tree quite a few times, the golden fleece pinned underneath him. Annabeth and me walked straight in, and so did Jason and Alex, but I realized a bit too late that it was Chelsea's first time, because she was just recently claimed. She'd seen monsters before, and met a few other 'mythological' creatures, but I almost burst out laughing when I got a look at her face.

When she did cross over ( she made sure to steer quite clear of the tree), we headed to the big house together, as a family. Once there, you can probably imagine what I saw. Mr D. and Chiron were playing pinochle, with a few poor Satyrs that looked like they were about to be incinerated… Which was actually a possibility, if they ended up winning any hands against Mr. D.

''Ah! Hello, Percy, Annabeth! I see you've brought along the whole clan, hm?''

Two guesses on who that was. We hugged, shook hands, the usual stuff, and Chiron did the same with the kids. Chelsea had met him before, but never out of his wheelchair, and when he rose out to get a better look at us, she nearly bolted. I'm not sure if it was 'uncle' Chiron suddenly becoming half horse that did it, or maybe just looking at the horror that is Mr. D, but she was paler than Grover the time he found out the enchiladas he'd eaten gave people food poisoning. Not a pleasant week, let me tell you that much.

''Yeah, Chiron. Chelsea here was claimed by Athena recently, so Alex is going to help her into her new cabin.''

I really wanted to puke, and Mr. D was snickering. Chiron looked rather sheepish, but the three of them (being Annabeth, Alex, and Chelsea) were beaming up at Chiron. It's a conspiracy, I tell you! Jason was already walking down to the Poseidon cabin, bags in tow, and I felt the strong urge to follow him. My wife was acting a bit too happy right now, which meant that she either had something planned (Which I'd probably hate), or she had won some sort of bet. Since it wasn't a bet, I went ahead and assumed she had something major set-

''Oh, then that means Nico owes you those fifty drachmas, correct?''

Darn, Chiron! Way to go and ruin the moment! It seemed that Nico himself was already present, as he exited the Big House, a small sack in his hand. Tossing it to Annabeth, who took it triumphantly, Nico glared daggers at me.

''Way to go, Percy. I thought I had her, too,'' he muttered, plopping down in a chair, entering 'brooding mode'. Annabeth and I had felt pretty bad for him when he was twenty, because he'd never had a girlfriend. It wasn't until I went to a bar with him that I found out why. He was getting girls thrown all over him, by choice. He just said 'no' to each of them. Apparently moody guys were the big thing now. Still, though, he'd ended up with a nice girl, who'd originally refused to go out with him because of his attitude. He was being led around by a leash, and seemed to be enjoying it. They had a little mini-Nico running around, but he was still a bit young to be claimed, even though it could only be Hades who does it. I know that on midnight of his thirteenth birthday, Hades will be in his room, waiting for him to wake up. Okay, so I made that up. But seriously, that seems pretty realistic for him, right?

''What can I say? I've never won an argument in eighteen years.''

Nico smirked up at me from the chair, and pulled out a newspaper, reading in silence. Pinochle resumed, and, if I thought about it, I would have seen the exact same scene played out years ago.

**A/N**

This is sort of just a filler chapter...Next chapter, I promise I'll integrate some of the plot. It may seem a bit far-fetched at first, but please stick with it, and hopefully I'll be able to tie it together well. I would have updated earlier, but I'm having a few issues with , and I started the third chapter while I waited.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

How do I put this...I'm a jerk. I actually have had a pretty eventful moth or two (family deaths, issues with a team of kids threatening me, but it's boring, so I'll just move on). I could ramble on with the apologies, but since it's been such a long wait, I figure you'll just want the chapter. So here it is.

Chapter Three: I Remember Why Annabeth Always Fed The Kids

The entire camp seemed to shake. Not just a little 'Oh, wow, a monster!' shake, like a 'Oh, gods, there's an army of monsters' shake. So, of course, I hopped up and ran to see what went down. By the time the shaking stopped, I could already see the problem. Singular. As in that army? It was actually just one giant...thing. I knew what it was, but it was just...wrong. Have you ever seen a baby after eating? With all the food smeared over its mouth, swinging the little plastic utensils around? This was sort of like that, but instead of a little spoon, it was a tree, instead of food, it was...the last meal it had, I figure, and instead of a baby, it was-Wait, no. It really was a giant baby.

Fifty feet tall, and stumbling around like Nico after his first drink, this thing looked insane. The campers, to their credit, were already trying to fight it off, and the Ares cabin was already barking out orders. Times don't change, I guess. Anyway, this was all sort of on the fly, because I was running toward the giant baby, Annabeth already a few feet ahead of me.

It really got insane once the monster passed through camp borders. It was actually inside the camp. I don't know how, but it was. It didn't matter, though. I had a job to do. I charged, slashing at it with riptide, which was already out of my pocket and extended. The giant baby-booties it was wearing seemed to be made of some type of metal, and just deflected the blow. The baby lifted up its foot, and I had to jump out of the way to avoid being squashed. I swear I could see my kids and Chiron already fighting, too, but I was way too focused. Annabeth gave me a signal. We'd had this maneuver down for years, and we both knew what to do.

I grabbed her foot and flung her as high as I could into the air, towards the giant menace. She swung her knife, but got picked off by a giant hand, and hoisted into the air. Dragging her to its mouth, the monster seemed to think this was all a game. I needed to think fast. Otherwise it'd be over for Annabeth, and she'd be baby-chow. I jumped, as high as I could, and managed to slash at the area below its knee in a feeble attempt to stop it.

If you thought it was weird before, get this. There was blood. Not dust. Not a 'poof', blood. Lots of blood. I don't know what happened, but I panicked. My heart was racing, my head was pounding, and I was coated in a layer of this red gloop. I passed out nearly instantly after that.

* * *

Waking up is never fun. We've been through that, I think. The weird thing is that I couldn't move. My eyes were open, and I couldn't move a muscle. I groaned out, trying to figure out where I was, and only a muffled 'mmphg!' came out. Chiron was there, I know that. We were in the infirmary, which was familiar. He looked sort of...worried. I don't know why, since the fact that I was here meant that the camp won, but he looked rather freaked out.

"Percy, this is going to sound like an impossibility, but please try to understand."

He seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than me, but I was listening.

"That creature you fought was a half-blood."

Oh. Maybe he _was_ trying to convince me.

"That's how it got through the magic barrier. This camp is open to all half-bloods, including children of Hebe."

Where did I know that name from? I really didn't remember what she was the goddess of, but I tried no nod, anyway. He pulled out a small bundle from behind his back, revealing a small baby. He nodded at me, like I was supposed to look, and that's where I saw it. It has a flesh wound right on its left knee. Right where I...Oh, gods. This was the weirdest day ever.

"I don't know why, but Hebe sent her son to attack the camp. She knew he could get through the barrier, and as soon as you nicked him, he shrunk down to regular size, and has been sleeping ever since."

Well, that wasn't so bad. Other than the baby, this situation seemed bearable.

"Percy, again, please understand that I have no real knowledge of an incident like this ever happening," he started, beginning to wheel his wheelchair around the room, almost frantically, "You've been turned back into a teenager. You're perfectly stable health-wise, but as soon as we picked you out of the puddle of blood, you looked like you did over twenty years ago."

I passed out again. You can understand why, right? This was all _way_ too complicated for me. But when I woke up again, Annabeth was standing by the bed, and I found, with a bit of difficulty on the first few tries, that I could move again. Then I saw her. If it didn't get to my head that this was real when Chiron said it, it did now. She didn't look a day over sixteen, and she was practically growling at me.

''Listen, _you,_'' she started, and already I was scared. If you've known her as long as I have, you know that means a rant is on the way.

"_I _can't go to work anymore, because I look like a child._ You_ won't be able to teach! All because I had to get dropped by that_ stupid _little beast, and into that _disgusting _blood!" She looked clean, all things considering. I felt clean, which meant that I probably got washed off pretty well after the fight. This would be an interesting story to tell to the kids, anyway- Right...They were kids...And so am I...Interesting.

I rolled out of the bed, marveling at how my clothes still fit relatively well. I looked out of place in a button down shirt and slacks, but I wasn't swimming in clothes, which at least let me know I was old and in shape. Which, again, wasn't a problem anymore, because I was a kid again.

"Do you have any clothes I can change into, Wise _Girl_?" I asked, stressing the 'girl' as much as possible. That was what did it. I could already see the flames in her eyes. Yeah, I ran out of there like a maniac, but it was justified. I don't want to be on the receiving end of the worst thrashing I've had in years.

* * *

If you ever think having kids is a good idea, then you're right. Since Jason is basically my clone at that age (Which _is _my age, right now), he had clothes that fit. What I did not realize is that my son has the most odd musical tastes for a teenager, which, while fine, seeing as I like some of the stuff too, but not fine when all he has packed are jeans and tee-shirts for garage bands he likes, and tee-shirts for older bands that are so vile I couldn't stand to wear them (For example, one happened to read 'we're the best, so...the rest. Fill in the blank). Not a single Camp shirt. Maybe I'd have to hit up Chiron. In the mean time, though, I was presentable, with jeans and a white short sleeve shirt he typically sleeps in, and was headed out of the Poseidon cabin to get some dinner after the long day, most of which I spent unconscious.

**A/N**

Right...Yes, again, it's weird, but please stick with me. It will tie in once I introduce the problem, and once again, I apologize for the wait. With winter break starting in a day or so, I'll be able to post a chapter or two, ideally, but I don't want to jinx it. This was going to be one mega-chapter (about 3000 words) but I posted the first half as soon as I was done with it so at least something is out there for the story.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**  
It's been too long. No excuses, just chapter. I may be posting some one shots in other fandoms to stave off writer's block, but no promises there. In fact, I haven't even been in this fandom for quite some time, so I don't know if the landscape's changed at all. If it has, I'll have to look into it.

Chapter Four: Hey Flash, Meet Aquaman!

There's a certain feeling you get in your gut when you know you're heading toward something you've wanted to do for _ever_, but haven't been allowed to do so, because you were stupid and went and got attached to your kids, and don't want to hurt their feelings. This was absolutely, positively, one of those times. You may think I'm immature, but let me put this in perspective for ya'.

My little Jay-Jay has been bragging about how he's the Flash since he was in diapers. Naturally, this ended up being my way of boosting his self-esteem If I knew how big a head he'd get, I wouldn't have bothered-I've told this to Annabeth, and she's told me the apple doesn't fall far from the tree…I asked if it was her tree, and I slept on the couch for a week. Try explaining why you're on the couch to three kids, one who's five, one six, and one seven. Now, that was ten years ago, so you're probably wondering why I even remember the issue. Well, I was foolish back then. I had to explain, so I merely said that their mommy was having some issues. Wrong choice of words. Horribly, horribly wrong. They went up to her with breakfast in bed the next morning, and told her the whole story. I may not have mentioned this before, but I still wince every time I sit on that couch. Two months is a long, long time.

Anyway, back to Jason. I was younger now. He was walking to dinner right in front of me. I hadn't uttered the phrase in years, but I couldn't resist.

"Race ya', Jay-Jay!"

Oh, I got him good. I took off running like a mad-man, glad for the long-awaited revenge I'd been denied so long. It's doubly good, 'cause he was chatting up some Apollo girl, and doing that macho thing that all teens do. Yeah, one point for dad, and zero for the son. She giggled to herself, or so I thought I heard briefly, before I could almost see the volcano that was my first-born blow it's top. I would tell you exactly what Mount Jason said during the eruption, but I'm a nice guy, and there were a lot of words I don't even think I've heard used before. It went a little something like 'expletive, cuss word, I hate you, swear, swear, grass'. Why grass? Because I was tasting it. Jason was fast. I was unconscious for most of the day, stiff, and never too fast running even as a kid. I had the reflexes, but he had the benefit of high-school gym, and it was enough to win the battle for him. He wouldn't have done it had I been the me he was used to. I hadn't seen him like this, and he definitely hadn't seen me, so he thought I was just some guy who looked like him.

"Ha! Too slow, dude! You run like a chick-"

I looked up at him, smirking. He cocked an eyebrow in a clear 'what' gesture. Let me tell you, it was anti-climactic. I expected there to be this big revelation, with the 'oh my gods!' and stuff, but I didn't get it. Just a funny look. Just when I thought I'd finally gotten a funny way to mess with him-

"Dude, stop staring at me. It's freakin' me out."

He got off and backed off a few steps, looking quite paranoid at the moment. I probably did just look him in the eyes smiling for a good half minute, so it was reasonable, but still.

"Who are you even? I haven't seen you yet, and aren't you a little old for a first timer?"

I stopped smiling and held all the giggles I'd been saving for years. Call me a nerd, if you want. Go ahead, do it. I said it, though.

"I am your father."

I stared at him seriously, almost glaring.

"Ugh. Gods, what a freak. Dude, I think your divine parent might be the god of LSD, because you're really tripping."

He trailed off with a shake of his head and continued towards the mess hall.

"Jason, stop." I called out, and he froze.

"You knew the pet name, and my name. Who are you really?"

His eyes narrowed sharply. He probably didn't have a weapon on him, so it wasn't too bad, but-Oh, no. Oh, Gods, no. For the love of Zeus, no.

He unsheathed a dagger he kept on his waist, under his shirt, and began moving slowly towards me. He was operating on the system the campers were taught. Even in times of relative peace, being paranoid of outsiders was always beneficial.

The Apollo girl seemed to be freaked out of her mind because she bolted, leaving only myself and the monster I created.

"You sleep with a stuffed pillow we got in Hershey Park when you were five. You brought it with you here, too. In your suitcase."

He dropped the knife, and looked torn between rage and confusion. Either someone had been doing some serious snooping into his personal life, or I was who I said. Which I am.

"You can't be. Really. It's just not possible. I know you got sent to the infirmary, but I never thought-"

"Leave the thinking for your mother. We both know you don't have the head on your shoulders required to understand this."

I got a muttered, "got it from you," in response, as he headed up toward the mess hall, grabbing his knife and picking up to a brisk jog. I followed, picking up my pace until we were side by side. We did look similar. I was over an inch taller, though. Two points dad, one point Jason.

"Capture the flag tonight, Percy. You in, or out?"

"Duh I'm in. Why wouldn't I be-Hey, wait a second, _you_! I'm still your father, and you-"

"Race ya', Percy!" He called out, already a good ten yards ahead while I was thinking. Two points all, then.

I chased after him, and was on his tail until we reached the entrance. We strolled in trying to look as casual as possible, but it was a lost cause. The room erupted in deafening silence, and all eyes were on me. Except for two. Mr. D, as always, was nonchalant. He was more concerned with his fingernails than me, so I just strode awkwardly to the Poseidon table with my son, and wished I would just turn invisible. It was just as bad as all the other times this had happened-I'm sure you know enough of those already. At the table already was a figure who looked absolutely miserable. A bright orange camp-half blood shirt, and unnecessarily tight leather pants were my first tip-offs that this was, indeed, going to be painful.

"Nico, buddy. How's it goin'?" I asked, trying to be cool. It failed. He looked miffed. Really, really mad. Like glaring daggers mad.

"I. Will. Murder you. Then your spawn. Then I will burn down your house, and destroy any memory left of you. Do you get me?"

He looked a few years younger than me, maybe thirteen, and, as I mentioned before, really, really mad. Jason, who didn't know him when he was younger, looked like he was about to run. I didn't blame him.

"Uncle Nico?" He asked, dropping to the title that hadn't been used in quite some time.

"Oh, that's nice. Two lined up for one shot."

He wasn't thinking straight, so I had to try to snap him out of it.

"Jason, go talk to your siblings. Nico and I need to speak a bit."

I slid in, and began the interrogation.

"Dude, what's up? So you're a kid again, big deal, right?"

He looked at me with a blank face, which did not bode well for me.

"My wife will kill me. She was expecting me home already, and I'm still here, playing nice with the kiddies, because I took a hit for the team and went in after you in that bloodbath!"

He was speaking in an angry whisper, if you know what I mean. He was forcing his voice down, but his eyes spoke differently now.

"I had an Armani suit on, Percy! I liked that suit."

Rationality was once again, gone. He'd gone a good deed like a good little cub scout, and paid an unexpected price for it.

"Well…At least you won't have to wear suits for at least another fifteen years…" I added, hesitantly, smirking.

He exhaled quite heavily and slumped forwards.

"Your children are informed. Your wife took care of the younger two, and I assume Jason figured it out by now. I have no such luck. How does one explain this to a woman who didn't want to get dragged into this life in the first place?"

Their marriage was a good one. Built on years of compromise (sort of) and the understanding that nothing too weird would go down, because they had a family now. His wife was just a human, and didn't have monsters coming into her cradle as a baby. He had a real issue on his hands I couldn't even start to comprehend. I patted him on the back softly, and sighed my own sigh.

"Capture the flag tonight, at least. That'll be fun."

"Tch. No it won't, Percy. The Hunters are set to arrive soon, and that makes it serious."

I nodded gravely. Too gravely, in fact, to be a normal reaction to the situation. It was an unspoken agreement in camp that Hunter/Camper games were to be taken seriously. They didn't happen often, because of the nature of the Hunters, but Thalia had managed to get Artemis to stop by more often, if only to see us more. Speaking of Thalia…She wouldn't get to call me old man anymore! Life was looking good, all things considered. It definitely could be worse, based on past experiences.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

Once again, no excuses. I failed as an author, and will take anything that comes at me for that. I make no promises for the future of this story, but I will continue to write it in my free time, and if anyone still wants to take the time to read it, then I appreciate it greatly. It's short, but is necessary. On with the show.

**We'll Do This Together! Better Tell Nico Before He Kills Me!**

So it was all good. I was talking to my cup again like the good 'ol days (Blue Coke. Make it blue, or so help me Gods!) and Nico seemed to be too preoccupied fiddling with the leather pants Chiron had probably scrounged up from who knows when (they were tight as all heck, and Nico actually managed to look more miserable about the clothes predicament than the rest of the matter) to focus on reversing the situation. Eventually he bothered to look up at me with nothing but frustration in his eyes, and muttered a cold, "My son won't even recognize me," before looking back at the floor. Maybe he wasn't being superficial, after all.

I wasn't going to lie to him and mention that it wasn't true, because Jason didn't recognize me, and he even looked like me. Nico's son was too young, and probably would just see the new (old) Nico as an older kid with a dark rage behind his cool eyes. His wife wouldn't let him in, in any event, and the curse of Half-Bloods was once again revealed in a new light; if you married outside the circle of them, you would eventually run into some kind of divine intervention that didn't go your way, and had consequences.

"We'll get you fixed up. All three of us will get fixed. Then you can go home, and we can go home, and everything will be normal again."

A hateful snort came from his direction, and he glared at me, his eyes burning with untold fires. I couldn't force myself to look away, or even make myself give him a sheepish grin. He looked old now, older than he did even before the change, and tired.

"Nothing is normal, fool. Nothing was ever, nor will it ever be, normal. Don't try to pretend it will be," he snarled, and I half expected to be swallowed up by the earth. He rose from his seat and left the Mess Hall in silence, the room quieting significantly as he left. The table in front of where he was sitting had the imprints of his fingers dug into the wood, a reminder of his presence only moments before, and how close he'd truly come to snapping at me in truly chilling fashion. My face went blank as I left, too, and I could hear Annabeth getting up to follow me. The room was near silence by then, as Chiron rose to see exactly what was going on, and looked saddened by the sight. The three of us were all struck by the same magic, and he would have to try to inform the camp as best he could that three of the heroes he'd helped to train would be returning to camp for an irrelevant amount of time. Until it could be resolved, he'd probably say.

We met up outside of the building to see Nico glaring at the grass before him like it had personally made his life miserable. Better the grass than me, I guess. I went to approach him and Annabeth grabbed my arm and shook her head mutely. She knew that I was going to try my best to make him feel better, but it wouldn't help much. Dumb girls and their ability to read people. He eventually turned to face us, and his eyes had lost the fury built up. It wasn't a good idea to bottle it, either, but for now we needed him calm and reasonable, not raging.

"What's done is done," he stated off-hand, rolling his neck, giving several satisfying pops as his joints realigned, "And it will sort itself out." He started walking again, and Annabeth followed. I trailed behind (sort of like a lost puppy, which was embarrassing), begging the Gods to fix this mess.

The three of us met in the center of camp, and the hunters were pouring in by now. Artemis herself wasn't there- I could just tell already- but the rest of them looked as proud as ever. Leading the group was Thalia, trying to look more important than the crowd, and I smirked as I approached her.

"Greetings, lady lightning rod, to what do I owe the honor of seeing your ugly mug again?" I taunted, with a bow. She narrowed her eyes, as if deciding whether I was worth striking down, then her eyes went wide. Ha! I knew I'd get someone like that!

She punched me in the gut, outright. I blanched, and she grinned.

"Puh-lease! Did you think that being Percy would let you get away with making fun of me?" She sounded incredulous, and dramatic as always. Annabeth and Nico approached, the former looking far happier than the latter. The hunters, probably rookies, were staring at the three of us like we were insane. Who lived after insulting Thalia, after all?

"These three losers actually happen to be old friends, " she told the troop, and they looked in confusion. How could three kids be old friends?

"Percy, Nico, and Annabeth. They're three of the greatest warriors you'll ever have the privilege of meeting."

I smiled, a genuine smile. She was really in a good mood today, since I hadn't been electrocuted yet.

At the mention of Nico, some of the girls stared at him with adoration in their eyes. The newer hunters weren't as good with following what I had dubbed the 'Cooty Code' decades ago, and were staring at him like he was meat. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and mouthed an 'I hate you,' at me, and tried to shrink into his shirt. It failed. The hunter girls wouldn't make a move on him, obviously, but somehow the boyish charm I don't even think he had when he was a kid resurfaced, and there was all eyes on Nico.

"I'm married. _Gods_, this is insufferable," he said, in a level tone. This was met with a chorus of 'huh?'s and 'how?'s from the crowd, most in complete awe. It shouldn't have been possible for me, after just offending one of my best friends minutes before, to burst out laughing, but I did. Thalia too. We were literally bellowing with laughter, when the ground beneath us started to shake. We knew when it was time to stop.

Annabeth had her hand apologetically on his shoulder, and he looked murderous for the umpteenth time this hour. Not that he didn't when he was an adult, but it looked a lot nicer when he was in suits, and he didn't have the ground threatening to blow up on us.

"Anyway, we're going to set up in the forest while you guys rally your troops. If you're still up to it, I mean," Thalia drawled, trying her hardest to illicit a response.

I'm glad to say I was the mature adult in this situation, and didn't respond to her challenge with an asinine or immature comment, but merely a statement of fact.

"Listen, old maid. You and your gang of girl scouts can get ready to go lick your wounds as you run on home, because you don't have a _chance_!"

I stuck my finger out in defiance, and bolted from the scene at the vein that looked too close to rupturing in her forehead. Annabeth followed, and Nico offered a quick, "Nice to see you again, Thalia," before he too bolted for his life. Ha! Bolted. Get it?

An hour or so later the two teams were lined up, and the sides were chosen. Chiron looked ready to start, and even Mr. D had bothered to show up, but he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. Chiron started the match and we split up down the middle, executing a classic battle plan that Annabeth, Nico, and I had perfected over the years. Thalia didn't stand a chance.


End file.
